Page 5 of Escalating Alpha

That was what I’d thought and why I’d pushed for this, so I gladly shook her hand.

She glanced around me at the other people. “I’m fine. Nothing happened here. My boss just helped me with sometraining. I consented to that a lot. I didn’t see anything against the FBI regs or—thanks for dropping by.”

Jerome Curtis snorted. “She is so you seven years ago. Havers is right about that. I had a thought about that while she was in training, but she preferred to blend instead of being driven for the top.”

“They get bullied more and that’s headaches,” Cindy grumbled.

Fair enough.

Seriously… Fair enough.

2

Two days later, I was being dragged to something I really,reallydidn’t want to go to. Something had clearly happened at the monthly guys night thing that all my lovers were supposed to want to go to.

But Dain was requiring them to go to. I wasn’t as in the dark as people thought and I caught a lot with my clairvoyant tendencies.

I also wasn’t getting involved. I hadn’t set it up. I hadn’t told them to do it. I had been clear that I thought forcing it was a bad idea and to not push it.

No one listened to me… So they could deal with the bullshit then.

I stood by that, so I wasn’t sure why I was being dragged to a group therapy session basically. The best part?

Phobie was being called into it too and she wasn’t a fan of that. She tried to hide it, but there was a new guy in all of this and she was being called in front of him for this meeting. She wasn’t happy about it but put on her best face even if I could sense she was pissed.

I would be too. If nothing else, professional courtesy-wise he should have talked to her first about all of this. She’d been the boss on our mental health for a while, and given this was Brian’snew guy and the last person Brian had gone to had fucked up a lot—Phobie wasn’t happy.

Eva was also going because she didn’t trust anyone and wouldn’t risk more damage to me when I was at a critical time. I appreciated that.

Hagan, Reagan, and Dain were attending, and it was hard to read them on where they stood. I’d expected them though.

Axel and Noah not so much, and I was surprised they were going.

“This will not last long,” Eva announced after we all sat down for the breakfast that was prepared. “This is unhealthy for Seraphine especially since she had no preparation for the topic.” She shot Brian’s new therapist a withering look. “This was not the way to handle this.”

“I couldn’t know that because Brian was unwilling to tell me more and give me information on Sera’s background when people can use that against her, but I’m glad you’re here to tell me. I understand now why Hagan pushed for it,” the therapist said. He chuckled when a few of them kept staring at him. “Get it out of your system.”

“Sorry,” Axel muttered, giving me a look like I couldn’t blame him.

No, not really, but he was hundreds of years old. This guy couldn’t be the first movie character name he’d come across.

“Yes, John Wick is my legal name and no, it’s not been great for me since the movie,” John said with a chuckle. He met my gaze. “And I will chuckle at times that aren’t fitting, and I apologize in advance. I was in an abusive relationship, and defusing the situation was the best way to keep from being hit. It’s harder to be angry when amused or things don’t escalate.

“It’s my natural defense, and I don’t always realize I do it. So know I’m never laughing at you, but dispelling tension or easing people down if things get—you know.” He waited until Inodded before glancing around. “And each of you had a different reaction to my being easily able to say that.” He focused on Phobie. “Go ahead.”

She didn’t ignore what was going on. “Normally, I would say that was unprofessional and oversharing with patients or clients—a familiarity that can backfire or lead to trouble later, especially with people you’re just meeting. But clearly, you have a point with this.”

He nodded. “I do. You aregiftedfrom what everyone has told me again and again. We all have specialties. Neither of us are couples counselors and relationships aren’t our focus. You handle traumas and keep people moving—how to handle the next hit we all take. I couldn’t handle that after what I’ve been through.”

She nodded. “I know your specialty. You help people learn to communicate better—personally and professionally.”

He bobbed his head back and forth before taking a sip of coffee. “I give lectures on the professional side and I hope I do a good job of it, but my focus is personal. It’s personal growth and being able to say what you really mean. How to get out of your own way and learn to articulate what you really want so you stop setting yourself up to fail.”

My gaze immediately snapped to Brian’s. “That’s why you asked if we could start over? That’s what you really want?”

“No, and he jumped the gun and called me panicked that he didn’t learn anything, so I asked for this meeting. Plus neither wants to tell you what really happened, but you deserve to know you said something that pushed over a domino,” he interjected.

I frowned, wanting to bolt even more now.

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